The Sun. — London, England, 1838-01-23 00:00:00

That list was withdrawn. It was not acted upou : and for r prosperous days I have thought myself honoured by the friend four long months things went on shilly-shally dilly-dally— ship of Mr. Papineau. I think myself so honoured now ; and the colonial department on one side and Lord Gosferd on the when I review the political career of that man, raised as he other, with a great country there in a state next to revolu- has been to eminence by the sole power of his intellect, eeith don, and with a representative body anxious for an excuse— out the employment of one single disgraceful proceeding, I anxious for the means of saying to the people, "We have got look in vain through the whole of that career for one act all we can, ell that the Imperial Parliament have proposed, which deserves reprobation. True it is that he denounced in and we must submit." But what was it they sent? They strong language the conduct of your colonial administration. sent the Governor wita these resolutions in his hands, but with f myself have equally condemned that administration ; and if nothing of redress, nothing to satisfy the pride as well as the there be guilt in saying that Canada has been ill-governed, vanity of these people; nothing conciliatory, but all that that her grievances have been left unredressed, that her was grasping after money, money, money. At whose door did oppressors are men ever cruel, and now exasperated, I tall this lie? Why, at the imbecility of the Colonial Office. Sir, am willing to partake of that guilt. Talk to me Did the House believe that if there had been a man of weight of being frightened at being called a traitor; at being and of mind to lead in these affairs there could have been told that my life is forfeited ; at the Newspapers set such delay upon such important points ? Good God ! to ting forth that I am to be sent to the Tower ? Yes, the those who sent out all sorts of people to all sorts of places Government organs and other portions of the press have en were there no means of sending out a man post-haste to the deavoured to excite the people against me, and induce them Governor of Lower Canada, begging him, for God's sake, to to believe that I and my friends could desire that which Eng go dawn to the House of Assembly with a proposition for an land could view as dishonourable. Do you think that lam altered Legislative Council, at least before he asked for mo- to be frightened by such petty warfare? If Ibe guilty why eney ? Entreating. him not to i nsu lt th a t A ssem bly, not to are there not those who dare accuse me lawfully? I want to say to them, "We do not care any thing for your feelings, know what is thought of the courage of those men who dare you who represent the feelings of the whole body of the make these anonymous accusations, but have not the courage ople. True it is we admit that the Legislntive Council to support them by a criminal prosecution ? My papers have have done all that is m i s chi evous; t hi s we a d m i t by the re- been seized. — (Considerable sensation.) Let them be pro port of our Commission—this we admit by the solemn cen- duced. I have not run away; because I know that there is a I sure of a resolution of Parliament—all this to us is as nought jury in England who will render justice to the accused, and -we have the power to ask for money, and that is all we re- (the Learned Gentleman here suddenly dropped his voice so . gard." Why, any man of common sagac ity wou ld conceive, as to render the close of the srntence inaudible.] Where is that at least it was intended, when communicating those reso- the ground of all this accusation ? What lam anxious for is, lutions to the House of Assembly, th a t th e G overno r should to get laid before the people of this country whatever justifiea go down with sonic such proposition as that of a thorough in- tion may he urged for all the persecutions thathave been inflict vestigation into the abuses of the Council. Why was that not ed on the people of Lower Canada by the executive power. I done? It must be supposed that justice was esker! ; that the want to know upon what grounds ajustification can be put forth Colonial-office was in that happy state of repose in which it for harrassing, persecuting, and putting into gaol a whole body could not even hear the murmurs of the people, although they of men who have been the leaders of that people fir a quarter were so loud as to startle every one else. Nothing could of a century, upon the mere affidavits and partial statements awake it from its slumbers. What cared the Colonial-office of persons whom the Executive Government know to have' at the Canadian people being insulted by this mode of pro- been suborned? And yet, with all this power in your hands, ceeding ? It was a very easy thing to get at the Exchequer ; you proceed to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act and annul therefore, if a revolt did take place, why, it must be put down. the Constitution. It may he conceived that to suspend the It might cost somethieg, to be sure, but that could not be Constitution was a happy thought. It is an act you have helped; besides, an opportunity might at the same time be long desired, but you dared not do it until you got the obtained of putting down the House of . Assembly, and that people frightened by your proceedings into a revolt. But was something. Well, what took place besides? Before Lord why stop here ? Why not suspend the Constitution of Gosford met the House of Assembly he was exceedingly care- Upper Canada ? There is a revolt, and you have not heard full to insult the leader of the people there. It was well known the last of it. Why not suspend the Constitution of New. that three months before the meeting of the House of Assem- foundland ? There is a stoppage of supplies, and you have bly Mr. Papineau attended various meetings of the people. not heard the last of it. How comes it, by-the-bye. that The leaders of the people discovered at the time of these we never hear, through the medium of the Colonial Office, public meetings that the people were not prepared for of some things that are taking place there as well as in the alternative to which he (Mr. Roebuck) had alluded. Canada ? How happens it that at the last election in New 'What did Lord Gosford do? He waited three months, and foundland you had cannon planted on the hill command then he did that which all the advocates of Canada had been inn the hustings, loaded with grape shot ? If you deny unable hitherto to do—he brought the grievances home to these things, I tall you there are men here who can prove every man's door. Hitherto the advocates of Canada had been it; and yet you wonder that your colonies do not entertain obliged to address the Canadian people through their under- a feeling of gratitude and consideration for--that happy standings. They said to them—and he (Mr. Roebuck) ac- m e taph or o f yours — t h e mot h er country ! Let me carry out knowledged that he was one who did so—" These are en your metaphor, and call her step-mother. If, after this croaci:ments upon your privileges—watch them well. The statement which I have made, gentlemen are still prepared effect, though not mischievous now, may be so hereafter. to do what they arc now called upon by the Government The words of Lord Gosford may be a warning to you." This to do, I wish to know whether they will say that any case was a warning to the nation : but b e in g i n themselves happy, has been made out against the House of Assembly. I address and not disposed to do anything violent, those good people, myself particularly in this ease to that class of politicians although they did support systematically their represents- who are, by favour, called Liberals. I want to know how tives, yet they did nothing more. But Lord Gosford came they will distinguish these acts of power towards the people of and dismissed by wholesale the militia officers and rnagis- Canada from those which were committed by this country p re _ trates, thereby making every mart feel himself personally vious to the American revolution? "Oh !" says one, "we insulted—and these were the people he was to conciliate ! don't tax them." No ; but you allow the House of Assembly Could anybody wonder, after seeing that the resolutions to tax them, and then take their money- when they have been mere not carried out, and after seeing that nothing was done taxed. And, furthermore, is it nothing to suspend the Con to satisfy one of their just demands, the justice of them stitution? After taking away their money, you proceed to acknowledged over and over again, that the members deprive them of their constitutional system, notwithstanding of the House of Assembly should say, "We will not their approximation to a nation for whose institutions the Ca be accessory, by paying this money, to our own dishonour nadian people entertain the strongest predilection. There is and disgrace. We will not yield to this unrighteous de- the same prevailing feeling in favour of the republican princi mand?" Well, the House of Assembly separated, and pie on the part of the various States of North America, as then what happened? Lord Gosford proceeded to revise the there exists in Europe for the monarchical principle, or in the magistracy. He did not, indeed, dismiss every person from East for the despotic principle. Can you wonder, then, if the Commission who entertained liberal sentiments; but he there should arise in the Uuited States a strong feeling of dismissed almost every one. He dismissed men who were sympathy for those people who are now reduced to the riot accused of any crime—rnen belonging to no faction, not crouching condition and the servile state of slaves? taking any part in politics. And what did he do next, and They are now to be governed by a Governor in that without any ado, knowing what was the state of the law Council—they who have been made to understand the full be in that country ? The Legislative Council took care of that, refit of a Representative Government ; they who see that Nay, the Government at tone acknowledged that the Orange principle on the other side of an imaginary line constantly Party there was so thoroughly ferocious that they were obliged acting in full vigour, and in all peace and quietness. Corn lo send out officers from this country to officer the militia in paring themselves with those men, they say, " We are your Canada. At that time the Sheriff of Montreal was appointed equals; why should we be deprived of those institutions by the Governor, and was subject to dismissal by hint; the which we hold dear? Why? Because we are weak. If we mere magistrates and judges also were made by the Governor, were strong England would be just, but we are weak and she and likewise subject to dismissal by him. Well, in this state is unjust." Sir, you have granted rights to those who knew of thi ng s he issued orders wholesale to try all those persons their power, and who, knowing, used it. It was by the who were the le a d ers o f the people for high treason, for power of their arms that the United States of America be speeches 'which they had delivered full three months be- came free. The best rights of this country have been gained fore. And what was it that those persons said ? Pre- by arms. You taught the people of Canada the very lesson cisely what every man of common sense would have said, they have now carried out. I myself have seen in this metro that to be tried by a Jury chosen by such a Sheriff, and polls things done and said during the passing of the Reform before such a Judge, was nothing more nor less titan con- Bill that, if you talk of treason, were ten thousand times demnation before trial. Every body knew (they had ex- worse than any thing that has been done in Canada. perience near home) what an Orange Jury would do. Those And who did these things? The Liberal party. Who persons naturally said, "We are not willing to stand the re- consented to their being done, and profited by them ? A suit of such a trial," and as many of them as could conse- Liberal Administration. And .then you wonder at what quently went away; and this was called running away—this is going on in Canada, and pretend to see a distinction which etas called dastardly ! It was a most natural thing, but it neither Washington nor Franklin could discover. The seemed to him to he very easy to be valiant in other persons' people of Canada say to the people of the United States, places ; but he should like for those persons alto spoke thus " We are in the same position that you were formerly in, but of his (Mr. Roebuck's) friends over the water to he precisely unfortunately we are only one million, while you are thirteen." in tNesame position with them. They were said to be cowards At the time of the revolution, indeed, the United States were and to have fled from those whom they excited to revolt. about three millions, but England is now an overwhelming First a t e foremost, if they had staid in the country they power, while then she was not equal to combat with the world. would have been in prison, and then how could they have Sir, can any man who reads the history of nations aright fail been with the people whom they were accused of deserting? to condemn the impoliey of these proceedings? I entreat If not with them how could they be said to have excited the this House to view the consequences that will naturally result people? A n d f ur thermore, he wanted to know, they having from this disastrous question. I see on the other side of the gone out of the country, how it could be said that they ex- St. Lawrence a nation now so powerful that we can hardly cited the people? Hut he would tell the House ho w these measure it s ex t en t— a nat i on th a t h as now d om i n i on from: people were excited, and when they had heard their story Florida to the Lakes of Canada, and which, if we are wise tile H o use, he hoped. would have seine consideration we shall take especial care has no increase of territory. fcr the characters of those individuals of whom men spoke so if eee were wise we should see and arrange all matters in glibly. The people of the district of Montreal, when they Canada and in our North American possessions, so as to taw the necessity of their leaders being obliged to depart to prepare them when a separation shall come, as come it avoid being arrested, and knowing that many others were likely must, to be an independent nation. But if you treat them to be taken up upon the same plea that the apprehension of thus as you arc now treating them, all thrir hopes will be those who escaped was sought for, because two affidavits only centered in America, and unhappily all their alliances will were all that was required for that purpose, said that no more be American ; and when we lose Canada, a s lo s e her writs should be executed there. What did the magistrate; of one day or other we shall, she will merge in the United Montreal do, or rather what did the Attorney-General do? States, and then we shall see that nation stretching He got a party of militiamen, chosen out of those Orange its power from the Gulf of Mexico to the northern pole, with partisans whom he knew to be the very men of all others who her fleets in every sea, and her insolent dominion over-riding most wanted to create a riot : men who had before petitioned every power ; for men, whether under good or bad institu to be enrolled in the rifle corps of Montreal ; and they went dons, if you make them irresponsible, will he unjust. Then, out and arrested two r espectable men, M. Demaray and M. in your turn, you will have to meet the injustice of too power. D'Avignon. They chained these two men, put manacles on ful America, in like manner as Canada hiss now to meet the their hands, a chain on their feet, placed them i n an o pen injustice of too-powerful England. Sir, lam sorry that on waggon, and he (Mr. Roebuck) had it upon the authority me should devolve this great argument. • I feel that I have of one of the people that they put a halter round their neck. wearied you. I feel that I have been inadequate to the great He was the more bound to believe that they did so because they tesk which a nation's struggle has devolved upon me ; but I -so treated it respectable person, the son of a surveyor general hope, while I have addressed you, that I have not forgotten, of that country, and while suffering under his wounds, and in the zeal of my advocacy, th a t I am one w h o was b orn c f drag ge d hi m many m il es t h roug h t h e di str i ct . W e ll, w h a t did 13 r i t i s h bl oo d. I have spoken from my heart as one whose thay do with Messrs. Demaray and D'Avignon? Instead of going whole interests are bound up in the honour a nd glory of my' direct to Montreal from the place were they were arrested, they country. I feel that that honour and that glory are now at stake aetuell v , paraded those persons throughout the excited dis- —not that factitious honour which is to be derived from power, tricts. What was the consequence ? Just what they themselves or whatever is successful in possession and prosperity, but expect e d the peasantry rushed to arms, and rescued the two that honour which is to be derived from the wisdom, the Wren; whereapon the G o vernment e xclaimed, "We cannot justice, and the benevolence of our rule. I find that the suffer th e l aw t o be opposed in this way ; we will send out an benevolence, the wisdom, and the justice of our rule are about armed power. They accordingly sent Colonel Gore to St. to be infringed, and that all of our American colonies that now Denis, and Colonel Wetherell to Ch a mbiy, who were t o join • remain to us will by and bye in another page of history have each other at St. Charles. At St. Denis the English troops to relate the calamitous story of this time similar to that were dispersed, but Colonel Wetherell arrived at St. Charles, which is already upon record ; and then, Sir, as the last ship and the people were dispersed. And what was the conee- of England leaves that insulted coast, with its millions quence ? Why, that an excess afterwards took pl a ce at St. stretched along its shores shouting' imprecations after her, you Clerk s and St. Denis on the part of the soldiery, only to be will feel, and not till then will you feel and know, your own equall e d b y t h e scenes of slaughter at T arragona and Bitelajoe. injustice. Sir, I have done my duty. Nay, he had received information from a magistrate of Lower The Learned Gentleman having withdrawn from the bar, Canada of hi s having sat in the midst of the most horrible Th e SPEAKER put the question, that the Bill be corn scenes, and of being surrounded by the mangled bodies of those wetted. who had been slaughtered by the British troops—that those Mr. HUME had understood it was not to be committed very bodies were the next morning eaten by the pigs—that many until ittprineiple had been debated. houses were plundered ()fall that was valuable in them, and that to Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that the principle of the his own knowledge those troops, in the insolence of their success, Bill would be debated on the question that the Bill be com bed committed every species of outrage which an infuriated mitted, soldiery were apt to commit, and this upon whom ? Upon Mr. HHME did not understand that two stages of so im• our own fellow-subjects. The honour of the British soldier portant a measure would be taken on one night.—(" No, no.) had been spoken of as involved in this affair ; but that was The SPEAKER said the Hon. Gentleman was in error. not an expedition in which honour could he gained by Bri- The House was not taking two stages. They were doing tish soldiers. No, they were acting as police ; and all that precisely what must be done on every Bill. The question they could possibly do would, at best, be but a painful duty. that the Bill he committed having been carried, he should But horrors such as these, atrocities such as these, were then put the question as to what day, and then it would be not to be s p o k en o f b ecause , f orsoo th, it would be tarnishing comp e t en t f or t h e H on, Member to speak upon the principle the lustre of the British arms. Thank God, he thought of the Bill. Much better of the lustre of the British arms than to ascribe BU ME said, if so, they were in a condition always as it to such deeds as these. What honour was were to be ac- if they were reading the Bill a second time.—( Hear, hear.) quired in opposing and sacr ifi c i n g an un disciplined body of He would appeal to the House whether the ease they had just men who were in an unhappy :state of excitement at behold- heard at the Bar did not give a different colour to tire whole Mg thos e pe rsons w h om t h ey were accus t o med to look up to transaction, and make out a case so favourable to the House and revere treated with every indignity that malice could of Assembly that they ought to pause before they pro. suggest? These undisciplined men being in arms, and ceeded nith the Bill ? He admitted it wile imperative or, in this state of excitement, did, undoubtedly, resist the the House to enforce obedience to the law of the co who, thereupon lonies; but they ou g ht not, t h ere f ore, to suspei ld th e eon well-disciplined t roops o f h er M a j es ty, proceed e d to b urn b ares w i t h men i n d ie m ; and, with stitutional privileges o f th ose co l on i es. F rom b eg inning their gallant commander at their head, to r ush in u pon to end it appeared to him that the House of As an alm os t unarme d an d, certa i n l y , a m ost undisciplined eembly in Lower C ana d a had acted with great pru d ence b ody of peasantry, wiles were the subjects of the same Bove- and much patience. They had been invariably frus teign. And yet we were not to speak of these horrors, for- trated in their endeavours to obtain the best measures for tooth, but at the risk of being denounced as having no re- the people by the Legislative Council, and if any punishment yard for the honour of the British army. He would repeat were to be inflicted it ought to be infligted on that body that t hat he had muc h more res p ec t f or th e h onour of that army' had stayed the course of justice and re f orm, M r. R oe buck th an those who desired to have such services done by it. To might have maths his case still stronger by showing that the ' , Press a revolt was always a painful duty, but it must be House of Assembly bad acted in accordance with the feelings Performed. That duty might, however, b e di sgrace d ; art i o f t i re peo pl e , because be might have shown that during that i h e would n eve r be p ersua d e d that th e c omma n ding officer period which he has so rapidity ity tette over, the Governor her! .a d nut sueient power over so small a body as were then tried egein and again, by appeals tr., tha rap l e , to res ist the . l Ployed in Lower Canada as to prevent them from coin- proceedings a the Assembly, but that at 00,7i7 gew election nutting these excesses. He himself knew that b oo ty was d ue people,sent bae‘ a greater number of Members to isuppctr , " e ,tually brought into Montreal and sold by the soldiers the wepular cry, and to (leased full justice. U n d er th e se or- T h e y robbed the inhabitants, and why? Because some par. cumstanene he entreated . her . Mat e eqe d , ;,. °ll of the people were in arms. They did so, knowing on that which would be, in his opinion, so far from conciliation Ministers not to press hers the House' of Assembly was not sitting ,• that its mem- that it would tend to widen the breach. He should ;eel, it hi, give his oepositsion to the present Bill in every stage . e rs mere scattered over various parts of the country to an duty to th ey of' no less than 700 miles ; and knowing, therefore,ebat of its progress through Itbat 1 . 1044; od h e sho u ld therefore muffling, were not in authority at that time. It was most unworthy' then move that the Bill be cotrewitite4 t day Aix months. '"tifiling, then, to attempt to put upon their back, the odium Sir 4P;ORGE GREY need seareaSy eat 4 tp the Mo nd the horror of this rebellion. The rebellion wise brought tion just mays by the .Hon. Member for Kilk en ny he should t o., °out by Lord Gosford, by the colonial government, and by offer his most det,orpined opposition. He was utterly at a e " want of wisdom on th e part of the rulers, and not by lost to conceive 119 W ti 4 . 94 ! Member proposed to effect the ;,""se men who had honestly maintained the character of the object of whit* 4 ,l?Prasn's—bow he would send eel representatives of the interests of their constituents. But out a Governor with fiall P°aYer„P, Yeaese i he ()sassed t.;e otil: Ire, ay we a cad eo (s aid M r . Roebuck) it is the habit everywhere now-a-days to measure which would give the navesaary atethoaity.--(Hear fl r eak of Mr. Papineau as being answerable for all that has be- hear.) He (Sir George Grey) rejoiced that the Ileu ( se haa 'ilee hi s country . N ow , Si r , I ant not one of those who have list e n e d to the Learned Gentleman who h a d t h at n i g ht ad -64n in the habit of deserting a friend in need. In his most dressed theta front the bar so ably and with such eloquence, THE SUN. LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 23. 1838. fur though there were not wanting in that assembly many ad. vacates who were not defielent in zeal, and whom they hail heard on former occasions most fully state the wishes and represent the opinions of the Canadian people, yet he re joiced that the British Parliament, in accordance with the feelings whichever actuated a British assembly, had not inter posed any obstacle to the hearing ofa gentleman claiming to be the authorised agent of the Canadian people, and poisessed of such an authority, so far as a resolution of the House of As. amiably could confer it.—(Cheers.) He would not follow the Hon. and Learned Gentleman through the remote periods of the Canadian history, neither would he recite the serious grievances which from time to time and from year to year they had heard so well stated by that Hon. and Learned Gentleman in his place as a Member of that House, nor the answers called forth upon those occasions ; but he must advert to one point in the earlier state of facts which had been re ferred to, and in which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman at tempted to make the house believe that the Canadian dis pute related only to financial differences, and that the whole was merely a financial question. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman had stated that all the Canadians required was a control over the revenue; and in dealing with this point the Hon. Gentleman hnd imputed g reat negligence a n d i m b ec ili ty to her Majesty's Ministers ; but he (Sir G. Grey) must say that this was not a fair representation, for every financial claim had been attended to by the Government ; and the Le. gislative Assembly had subsequently departed from the just and constitutional grounds on which it had first stood.— ( [leer.) Concession was made of all their just rights, and then commenced their unconstitutional and unjust de mands; and a negative was given to those demands by the Parliament only after a solemn and thrice -repeated declaration of the Canadian Legislature to adjourn all their deliberations, to render useless their functions, and to abrogate the duties imposed upon them by the Act of 1791, till the British Government and the Parliament had receded front the ground which they had taken—till they had granted an Elective Legislative Council. By these acts, or rather this neglect, the Canadian Constitution was prac tically suspended, although it would only be so in reality by the Act which was then proposed ; an Act which, in fact, was only to supply the wants created by the refusal of the As sembly to provide for those Legislative measures , which th e interest of the Provinc e d eman d e d, an d to fill up the interval .which must elapse before an Assembly could be called toge ther. The Government had placed confidence in the repre sentations made to them, that if the Canadians were entrusted with a controul over their expenditure, there would be but little difficulty in managing the affairs of the Colony ; but when the Assembly met they carried not one Legislative Act ; they met to remonstrate, not to legislate ; they saw all the Acts which required re-enactment expiring ; and all this they allowed to pass without the slightest attempt to prevent the injustice which would accrue to the public and to indivi duals, without any provision for the manifold interests which required their protection, Red which were placed in their hands by the Act of 1791 ; and the House was then called upon, after the greatest forbearance had been carried to the fullest extent, by the Bill then before them, to remedy these inconveniences, and this in the only manner in which it could do so effectively, unless Hon. Members assumed the execution of the functions of the Local Legislature, by passing, from day to day the Bills which might be required, and which they must do in absence from the scene of action, and in entire ig norance of the local wants and local wishes. But let not the House mistake the real state of the case, nor what had occurred in Canada since 1828. Let them mark well the progress of the present dispute relative to the conduct of the House of Assembly. In 1833 a Bill of Supply was passed by the Le g:slative Assembly, which was rejected by the Legislative Council, for the reasons and under the circumstances men tinned on a former evening. In 1834 no such question arose, but the House of Assembly, without any distinct refusal to vote a supply, passed the ninety-two resolutions which were embodied in the address to that House, and which having been sent to the Governor to be forwarded, the Legislative Assembly was left with so few members remaining in Quebec attending to their duties, as to render it impossible to transact any busi ness, and they could only meet and adjourn. In 1835 the same process was pursued, and thus for two years the As sembly separated without making any provision for the public service, or for the payment of the salaries duo to the persons who were necessary to discharge the judicial offices in the colony, or to those other persons against whom it was never alleged either that their offices were unnecessary, or that their salaries were inadequate to the onerous duties which they had to perform. Under these circumstances it became, in 1834, the duty of the Government to consider the best steps to pur sue to raise the colony to a better state ; and he could not re gret, notwithstanding- the weakness and the imbecility with which he and his colleagues were charged, that they did not adopt those harsher measures which would have led to an im mediate quarrel ; that they did believe in the professions which were made, that if the Canadians bad a controul over the expenditure, and if there were a fair distribution of offices, there was no reason to fear but that the Legislature would cordially co-operate with the Government to carry on the executive functions. Ministers might have been too credulous, but the course which they adopted was preferable to a harsh and little-provoked exercise of dominion, and the exercise of what Burke called "the boundless power of imperious legislation." Lord Gosford had gone out in 1835, and had carried with him instructions in a double ca pacity, both as Governor and as a Commissioner. As a Go vernor, he was ordered to remedy every abuse, and to redress every grievance which was within the province of the Execu tive Government, and he (Sir George Grey) might confi dently appeal to every act of Lord Gosford in support of the assertion, that he had fairly acted up to the spirit of these in structions ; for he bad never heard any complaint against his Lords'iip in his administration charging him with any par tiality, any preference to one race over another ; or, at least, he had never heard such a complaint from the :Canadians themselves. Complaint had been made that he had removed from commissions in the militia arid the magistracy, not gen tlemen who had merely attended a public meeting, to express a legitimate opposition to any given course of Government, but to pass resolutions subversive of all connection between ..his cenntry and the colony, and tending to that direct infrac tion of the law which had since been acted upon. If Lord Gosford had waited until insurrection had actually taken place, tiil the men were to be met with arms in their hands, then, in deed, he might have been justly accused of imbecility for abstai n _ ing from acting, but allowing the whole weight of their authority to add to the power which they would have with a misguided people; and he must say that Lord Gosford had taken the course which every man of mind would have pursued. He had been conciliatory till the exercise of stronger powers was absolutely necessary, and when the necessity arose he had not failed. In 1834 or 1835 the first demand was made for an Elective Council, and the House of Assembly refused either to vole a supply, or to perform their other functions, till their demand was granted. Lord Gosford, in opening the Session of 1835, informed the House that he had received his Majesty's commands to place at the disposal of the House all the public moneys, subject to certain conditions. It had indeed been said that the message of Lord Dorchester had already, and for many years, placed these funds at the disposal of the Co luny : but all that Lord Dorchester's message did was to pledge the Crown that the funds derived from the casual and territorial revenues, and the revenues :arising under the Act of 14 Geo. HI., should be strictly applied to colonial purposes. He was not aware whether they wer e placed at the disposal of the House of Assembly, but at any rate they were by that message only pledged to be used fer colonial purposes, in aid of the revenue of the Province. In stating Lord Gosford's message, placing these revenues at the disposal of the Legislative Assembly, he did not wish to claim for the present Government any share of merit to which they were not fairly entitled, and in justice to the Government of the Right Hon. Baronet opposite. he must say that to the same extent was the Government pledged, so far back as the period when Lord Aberdeen was at the head of the Colonial Oce, and the pledge was contained in some signed dispatches to Lord Amherst, which were left in the Colonial Office. It was unnecessary for him, however, to travel through the early history of the Canadian differences ; it was no part of his duty to defend former acts_( Hear, hear)—it never was his inten tion to state that no unjust principles had been acted upan in the government of Lower Canada.—( Hear.) It bad been ad mitted again and again that there were grievances; but what he had formerly stated and complained of, and to what he still adhered, was, that these had been redressed to the fullest ex tent ; and when the more moderate but not more strenuous advocates of good government had expressed themselves satis fied with the redress, others stepped in, and, denouncing the others as renegades, declared that nothing less than an Elec• tive Council or a separation from England would content them. To Lord Gosford's address a general answer was made by the Assembly, but several months elapsed—indeed it was not till March, 1836, four months afterwards, that the lions! replied specifically to the Lieutenant-Governor, declaring that the princiaal objects which they had in the Reforms which they required were the introduction of the elective principle into the Legislative Council, to make the Executive govern ment directly responsible to the Assembly, to repeal certais acts passed by the Imperial Parliament, and to give them a substantial control over the waste lands; and, to prevent any misunderstanding as to the demands which they made, they stated that the head of their reforms was the essential principle of introducing a system of election into the Legislative Coun cil ; and that "the people, without distinction, regarded this Council as opposed to the wishes of the colony, and as the strong hold of abuse, and considered that any partial reform or alters don would be insufficient," Now the Hon. and learned gentle man who had that night spoken at the bar, had said that the House ought to look to no other representation or explanation of the opinions of the Canadian people but what was stated by the House of Assembly, which was the sole organ of the wishes of an united people. But what were the facts relative to this very reply elicited by the Commissioners, and for no part of their report was there more convincing evidence than fe thi-, that SO Nr tyJrni the people being tlPartilitottlily of ()pi nion that nothing short of the inteeditctien of the elective principle would suffice, there was a large and influential body o f great wealth, especially commercial wealth, who depre cated an positively mischiseoms .the suggestion of an Elective Council, who giotight that by eonceding this principle in the present state of the colony the Government would be inflicting a great evil on the ealony 3 an d th a t G rea t Britain would be ther e by receding from the p os ition which si,e lied taken up when she induced many of her citizens to transfer theufselys to and to invest their pro perty in, this colony. He (Sir George Geey) would not affirut that the Legisl a tive Council was Withoqt 'fault ; he wai not an adrliirAF cf it e eriginal Genstit u ti en, end haci ad mitted that it had in its eomposition maiiy rat4lla ; lsa need not therefore repeat the admission ; but he must remark that there was a great difference between making it elective and introducing into it such modifications as should secure for it the greter 6onlitlenrle of the people, and should bring into greater liatrkbo tie p ie _ karachee of the C o l on i a l Legislature, but which shouhd still loVe - extstetiee the free exercise Of an indepsudent judgment. It was said that the recommendations or the Assembly ought to have been at tended to, but as the time three and a half years' arrears of salaries were due, and a six months' supply only was granted, being only a small proportion of what was actually due, and making no provision for the future salaries. Lord Gosford reported this answer, and prorogued the Assembly ; audit had been asserted that the Government ought to have assumed teat the dispute between the Assembly and the Council was irrecoecileable; but the Government was anxious not to force on such an evil ; and considering that some passages in the reply of the Assembly showed a distrust of the Government and misunderstanding of their intentions, they had directed Lord Gosford again to convene the Assembly, to lay before them the whole of his ins truct i ons, and to request them, with these explanations, to reconsider their resolutions. In answer to the address which Lord Gesford accordingly made to them the Assembly declared that they had not misunderstood the Government; and that in reference to a supply they considered that a redress of grievances should pre cede a grant of maney, and that they hal come to the determination to ,adjourn their proceedings till the de termination of the Government should be known, and till the second branch of the. Legislature was made conformable to the wishes sod wants of the people. By this exp ress i on they meant nothing less than the introduction of the elective )1 4 .riciple; and his Majesty's Government, not being prepared to establish or propose the adoption of that principle, had asked of the Parliament the resolutions which had been passed to explain the opinions of the Parliament, to show the Cana dians that it was not a mere difference between the Govern ment and the Canadian Legislature, but what were the real sentiments of the British Legislature, in order that the Cana dian Legislature might reconsider their resolutions, and might be induced to yield to the voice of the Imperial Parliament what it would not grant to the requests of the Executive Go vernment. Ha regretted that it had been necessary to call upon the Parliament to act as an arbitrator, and he re gretted still more that its arbitration had been rejected, and that the solemn resolutions of the Imperial Parliament had been met in a spirit still more hostile than had been before experienced, and that a resolution had been passed by the Legislative Assembly - that they would not resume their functions till the elective principle was accorded ; and not being able to propose a concession to their demands, because they conscientiously believed that such concession would he detrimental to the colony as well as to this country, and would tend to the dismemberment of the empire, Ministers were bound to provide the means by which a temporary sub stitution could be made for the discharge of the functions which had been abrogated by the Legislative Assembly, and to provide for the necessities of the colony left without a le gislature. Against the Bill, then, before the House, and which was proposed with this view, nothing had been urged by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman who had been heard at tha Bar, and nothing had been suggested by him as an equi valent, except that be asked them again to call together the Assembly, who had been three several times convened, and who :sad most unequivocally declared that they would never dieharge their duties as one branch of the Legislature till the Government had complied with all their demands. The Bill now proposed was only a temporary measure, rendered ne cessary by the emergencies of the times, and he (Sir G. Grey) entertained a hope, which amounted almost to a certainty, that this measure, in the hands of the Earl of Durham, coupled with the general instructions upon other points which he knew he had received, would effect the object so inueh desired. that all past differences would be buried in entire oblivion, and that all parties iu the colony would concur in establishing a firm, a reasonable, a stable, and a liberal form of government, which would not only cement the connection between this country and the colony, but would also render the Canaries prosperous, and the people contented and happy ; and he trusted that long before the period limited by this Act, his hopes being fully realised, her Majesty in Council would be able to avail herself o fthe power contain( d in this Bill to shorten its duration, with advantage to all parties, and to call together, under better auspices than had of late prevailed, the ordinary colonial legis lature. Reference had bee:a made by the Honourable and Learned Gentleman to some points in which he asserted the Legislative Assembly had been wronged by the Executive Government. He had said that money was the only object of the Governor, that no redress was afforded, and that in every other respect, except the attempt to get at the supplies, he had made long and useless delays. The Learned Gentle man particularly complained of - the delay which had taken place in adding to the Legislative Council the names of Members of a more liberal character than had here tofore been selected, and who possossed greater confidence with the Legislative Assembly ; but he (Sir G. Grey) thought that the papers on the table of the House afforded full reason for the short delay which had taken place ; and by a perusal of those papers it would be found that Lord Gosford had in June last year, after the most mature deliberation, sent home a list of men whom he bad selected as fit to fill the im portant office, not indeed of men who were pledged strongly to any line of political conduct either on one side or the other, but men entitled from their character and station, and, above ell, their moderation, to the confidence of the country ; and he must candidly confess that the spirit in which those names had been received was such as to afford him no hope•that if the selection had been made, the list had been forwarded, and the persons appointed at an earlier period, this increased cele rity would have removed any of the evils which had been com plained of, or would have produced any quicker reconciliation between the two branches of the Legislature. For had not Hon. Members heard, even in that House, men who did form part of the extreme party in Canada, and who did not go to the full extent of the views of the Assembly, designated as worse than the most violent of the Canadian party ? Was there any disposition to give credit for liberality to any other in that colony than men who bad looked not to the attainment of an effective Reform, such as the Imperial Parliament had agreed to, and was more than once pledged to grant, but ing au produce establish inconsistent et i Electiveieat raiit t li I do l L e tnll i gbe n nei t st e dlw r : e teni st . lee : of Great Britain and of Canada. Allusion had also been made to acts which bad taken place since the passing of the resolutions, and the Learned Gentleman had quoted extracts from papers published iii America, and by the more violent party in the colony itself, and he had proved, or endeavoured —for he (Sir G. Grey) trusted that he had not succeeded in his atten:pt—to fix a stigma on her Majesty's Government, and . a stigma on the Gallant Officer commanding in Lower Canada, on account of the supposed conduct of the troops, an insinuation which at no time ought to be allowed to be made in that House, either by a Member or at the Bar, ex cept it were intended to support the charge by proofs, and un l es s ther vs e .e s i Ng-ahstsothmaen oatahoeirvfnolulnudsatnieonwsiomnpetrvbpicalriagitraprhess‘t_ed ( or lde m ar o , re hear, hear.) He would ask whether the persons who made the statements were prepared to prove that villages had been burned, that houses had been sacked, and the mysterious allusion to all those other outrages usually perpetrated by an excited soldiery in a state of war? If they were prepared with such proof, he hoped that they would not delay in bring . s it forward ; but iii the mean time he must express his utter inn disbelief in the statement, and he thought that, from the elm the troop's, he might safely assert that there were no grounds for the statement. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman had also to-night, and the Honourable Member for Kilkenny had, on a former occasion, alluded in severe terms to di.. conduct of Lord Gosford with respect to the selection of the Magistrates, who were said to hare been chosen solely from one violent political party, and ato carry into effect the de termination of the Governor with respect to the State prose cutions. N o w, though he had not before him the names in beent dismissed, nor of those d had boen . appointed, as moved for by the Honourable )it'ar'( l nmvhe..; ogucht i b ornic' e i c'ho i n l r cilafi f ld°,v o a f tiNe l o i°a . . am m : r eni n'id;aabdlK:tog—eittffi,oeie'lshi‘nr colony—measures nctil who ireceoanaratai colony,t p is i nise i l al : u e ce y s ' b t ord() o o i limy r n' i u l t eo i a 'ae ho °' d'ldar s f i e ' li' o nk i: d't :r d r eliodi m e fil Y g g e , ce r on ne night, tra,n yet g a characterliere port thought ort ifromlimight t that tibi co list l g so l l Zned fraiosnm3d7tl:seo(ll,ii,siptaotre_lGiees.nel:ailLs orredmGecotsifoigrd'tshdeispateli, proceedingsdated iANetostyht;en2lde2Yi'strict of Montreal, it is said, " our undivided atten tion has been devoted to the attainment of such evidence as would authorise the arrest of those political incendiaries to whose machinations the present alarming state of this city and district is to,,bezttributede Having at length accomplished this important object, by the assistance. of Messrs. Cuvillier and Penn, two of the magistrates of sic contained in ; therein,chem i t t o um o aetr t re n rdao t n h ntteo e s hi we ou re eieepi treasons i Ensu i tloegetadlibiii t fssa l otini aradtegm(tlo:tahnul against sitri itrs c eyatt l rp i i depositions and accompanying documents were submitted, with of apprehension." : Pe t r el against whom the denunciations dilbtaleebdoeinntey company H ik v nic e : i l iew y mhan t s o lyi eo b wn e hicat a ndo p f t lre y . be }tad p l fi l .i l i ) o e i i n p d ce " e sa T s ' ao t e s a r f twoesraeciltiamenetalesadretos as l',l'eilson; there was not the slightest evidence to prove that he ever aw rs is e l ii e t d s to this advocated, or the improvements in time government for which he had ever contended; but finding that the leaders of the people were going beyond what his sentiments had bean, he had not gone along with them, and notwithstanding his former agency on the part of the Assembly, ho Was equally attached to the freedom of the people, and so stand by the Govern, molt in all attempts at insurrection and revolt. lie (Sir G. Grey) was sure that Lord Gosford's conduct would bear the strictest investigation. Honourable Gentleman had, indeed, brought no direct charge against him, but bad contented them selves with dealing in general allegations against him in every case except the last ; and though there were at pws, - ent no doe' eurrients relati ng to this charge to ..vhich reference could be made, yet as far as the evidence want there appeared the most perfect exculpation.--a(Hear, hear.) There was one other statement of the Honourable and Learned Gentlemen which he could not allow to pass unnoticed. He heat eepeated what had been before explaiued, and he (Sir 0. Grey) thought that after the contradiction which had been given, the misleatation he would pat call jt h e y the harsher name of etale,able ignorance of facts, sm e ht n qt to have been repeated. In Colonel We therell's report„ dated from St. Chales, 27th Nov., were . contained these words, " I burnt the barn ;" and in this pas sage, to make up the forced construction c( the Ho nourable and Learned Gentlemen, the \roads " with all the individuals in it" were inteepeloted ; and hence the assumed wanton destreetims of linmen lifts. It was not Cyst that those m stateents , Torte W. the oountry, the real facts should be looked te, for it would be found that at the moment when tea tea halal was burnt there was no allegation of there teeing any person in it. Colonel Whetherall had been el; eely before fired at from the very barn, while his trop be tesee draW.kng up. but it did not appea. that_ eV P.P-c=.oo. awe absolutely within the buildi ncr et the time et. ita* being destroyed. The destruc tion of the barn was necessary, and only in accordance with the practice universally adopted under such circumstances. ( Hear, hear,) He would ask the Honourable Member (Mr Leader), who was present at the meeting at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, whether jt was fair that these state men t s should be mad e , which wee well'anowe . ceeld not be proved ? —O -164 r; Was• only anxious that the real facts should be known—that they should be known as Ss idely as possible, and he was the more anxious because he was satisfied that it would be seen, on the real circumstances being published, that the Ministers had not departed from a wise and temperate mode of government, but that they had acted only in the discharge of their duty, awl had only adopted a course to which they were driven by the exigencies of the times. It was a duty, however, most distreasing to them, end One which he hoped would be discharged with temper and judginent, and he felt confident that in these anticipations he would not be disappointed, but that the Noble Lord who was about to proceed to Canada, would conciliate the people so far as his office and the state of the times would permit, and that that course would taken which would be best adapted to securing the happiness of the people and the re-establishment of their affections towards this country.—( Hear.) [The Hon Gentleman during his address to the House was frequently in audible in the gallery.] Lord FRANCIS EGERTON gave his support on the ground stated by the Hon. Member who had spoken last—on the ground of the necessity of tie case, without any party pus pose or part! view, and sfonpinrs only to look at ths difficulti e s in which this country and Canada r were entangled. From the statements which had gone forth lie was most anxious to in quire whether it was any recent conduct of Ministers to which the present state of affairs was to be attributed; but he mast say that if he looked for reasons to support that proposition he should not be at a loss to find them in the papers which had been laid before the House, but on the contrary there were passages in some of them which would lead him to entertain that opinion. He would take the liberty of illustrating his argument by referring to one or two passages which he found in the documents, and which appeared to support this view of the case. The first passage was in a correspondence which took place between Lord Gosford and the Noble Lord the Secretary for the. Colonies, in which the latter professed to account for the delay which had taken place with regard to the legislation promised in the resolutions passed in that House, a delay which had given very little satisfaction in the colony. The Noble Lord said, that much as he had always lamented the necessity of adopting measures of a harsh or coercive nature, he at the present moment felt peculiar reluctance in adverting to that course, regretting, as he did, that almost the first lima-. sure of the present Queen should carry with it the appear ance of harshness towards any of her Majesty's subjects.' It appeared to him (Lord Francis Egerton) that no offi cial correspondence presented a parallel :passage, containing so much of sickly and ill-timed sentimentality as this, What a strange comment would it appear on the memory of oar late lamented Sovereign, and what an ill-timed compli ment was it to the young Sovereign who had recently as cended the throne of this realm I For the memory of his late Majesty there was no regard —no respect ; lie must be al lowed to go down to the grave with the unfavourable impress sion against him of coercive measures haying been adopted by him, a circumstance which would cover his name and memory with obloquy. Such passages as this did more credit to the injustice, than to the justice or the good sense of the Noble Lord.--( Hear.) There was another passage which had to tracted his attention with reference to the recall of Lord Cos. ford :—Sir Francis Head, it appeared, was recalled—it was not known why. It seemed that there was some difference of opinion existing with regard to that gentleman ; but so far as he could judge from the papers, it appeared to him that he had conducted the affairs of Upper Canada with peculiar tact.— ( Hear, hear.) Sir. John Colborne had been also Governor, and uncles his management the affiirs had been well conducted, but he, top, had been recalled—of the reason why, every one was its dirk ignorance. He was recalled, however, and it was not for him to say that there was not some good reason for that course being taken. That Lord Gosford should himself desire to be recalled was natural, from all the circum stances ; his demand or request that he should be recalled might be consistent with the credit given to him by the Go vernment, and to which he (Lord F. Egerton) was ready to subscribe ; therefore, if he had stated that the reason of his wishing to retire was " The storm is gathering round me, I do not like to remain, relieve me, and appoint a successor," nothing would have been more fair or more proper. But it was on the reasons given by him, but which were of a far dif ferent nature, that he must decline to give his assent to that part of the proceeding. He said, "My situation now is not an enviable one, and on every Frivate consideration I should be glad to relinquish it; it would be better, besides, to have some one in my place who had not avowed his wish and deter mination to carry on the Government on the principle of re conciliation." He had been led to suppose that the most use ful agent who could he employed in a task of necessary or jtis tillable coercion, was one who had exhausted every weapon of remonstrance, conciliation, or peace.—( Hear, hear, hear.) It was to this very strange observation of Lord Gosford that he desired to express his dissent, and as it appeared to have been written not without consideration, lie must be allowed to express his surprise at the sentiment expressed. Lord Glenelg, in answer to this, wrote, " It is impossible not to see that the course of policy now to be pursued will be best fol lowed out by yourself in the matter of conciliation." Did lie not see that he was writing down the course which lie him self proposed._-( Hear, hear.) What had been his course but conciliation? He (Lord F. Egerton) wondered that the Noble Lord had not advised Lord Gosford to withdraw his dispatch, or that he had himself presented it to the public, for how could Lord Gosford know who would be sent out as his successor ? whether it was to be a man such as Lord Durham, or one who would have no care for the interests or the feelings of the people,? He did not:urge these recta with the view to impugning in any degree the credit to be given to Lord Goa ford in the execution of his duty, and which he was willing to give him to the fullest extent. Ile knew Lord Gosford well, and was willing to believe that he had done justice to all. Among other matters referred to in the dispatches the sins of omission had been much remarked upon, and it was said that there were many gaps or intervals which ought to be filled up. Certainly, on looking at the papers, it might be supposed that there were some portions of the dispatches which had been kept back ; but lie was informed that everything of importance had been brought forward ; and he did not feel himself entitled to take any liberties with the name of the Noble Lord in this respect, as other Members had already done. He had been told that an amnesty which had been carried into effect had been mentioned to the House, and it had been received as re commending, it' not the policy of conciliation itself, at all events the conduct of Ministers ; but if the Bill should tend at all to take away the power w hich the Government at pre sent possessed in this respect, and which lie believed to be most useful in recalling the misguided people to their alle giance, or if it be referred to any particular individual, be should oppose it to the utmost. The House was told that few insurrections had, in some points of view, less excuse than the present. In spite of what had been said at the bar of the House and elsewhere, he must confess that be believed that there was much truth in this assertion, and that few measures of great importance of an insurrectionary character had had less ground. At the same time he thought that en other newts of view few insurrections had been TiVITt3 excusable, because few ever received greater encouragement from this country—from th e speec h es ma d e i n this House.—(hear.) He would not go into them, for it was the duty of the Go vernment to suppress sedition—(Hear, hear)—it was the duty of the Attorney-General to take up the prosecution of any in dividual whose speeches were treasonable. or seditious, and he did not choose further to refer to sueh speeches, made in that or elsewhere.—( Hear, hear.) But the opinions advocated in those speeches had been such as to convince the misguided. people of Canada, who knew little of the real state of feeling in this country, that however extrome their views might be— ( Hear hear)—even if they should ex t en d to the separationof the colony from this country, thought they should go the length of what the law called treason, yet that they would meet with .1 a powerful sympathy from a powerful party in this country. It was not supprising that they should place great reliance on the power of that party, seeing the position in which it stood ; that it existed not " in," but " over" the Government ; that it was one on which the Government very much depended - for its existence, and to which therefore, the Government must be very subservient.—( Ilear, hoar.) The party was one which the Government might resist on one question ; but mark the consequences —they must conciliate it, by making some sacrifice to it on another.—(Elear. hear.) The people were told this, and was it to be wondered at that they should adopt the supposition ? or was it likely that they, on the other hand, would imagine that the Government was opposed to them, and that with the assistance of the Opposition, that Opposition on whose support they could always depend when any question affecting the true well-being of the Consti tution was to be considered, they would pass a measure such as that before the House ?—( Cheers.) They were told to look at the tests of the feelings of the people which the elections afforded. The real feelings of the country might be against them, but there were events which passed which induced the Canadians to suppose differently, for there had been a wailing over the defeat of Baal ; and a triumph over the success of Westminster.—( Dear, and a laugh,) They might be told to ask where the influence of Ministers, where the influence of the Crown had been given, and they would flail that the very principles which they - themselves advocated were now supported by the very mon to whom that inilue.nee had been extended.— ( Hear.) Under such eircumstaneea he could not call down the penalties of treason on those who had been misled, seeing that they had been misled by those very persons whom pecu- Hedy Govermrseut had no:iced.—(Cheera.) The transactions connected with the revolt afforded additional proof of the utility eta small body of troops in Canada.:.., He was sure that no other country in the world would have attempted to put down such a revolt with so small a number -oi inenoind he did hope .that in ales event of any measure being hereafter brought forward i,i the House for the purpose of altering the present p.vulations of the army that tionoureble Members would pause before they gave their assent to it. To return to the Bill itself, there were many provisions in it to which objections might lad takers, but he thought it would be prematurOo en ter into the consideration of them before the Bill sheeld'come fairly before the Committee, and any observation on tail point he should, then ore, reserve until a metre fitting opportunity presented itself. Mr. LEADER then addressed the House—lle said that after the admirable speech made at the Bar it was almost un necessary for any Member to make any observations in oppo sition to the Bill. He, however, felt called upon to address some remarks to the House iu answer to the speeches just delivered. He could twat help feeling that it was a most painful and diskgreOa.ble. subject to follow the lion. Baronet threugh the, details of his speech ; and here he would at once" remark as to the charge: inside by Mr. Roebuck with reassect to the tecatment .of the people of Canada by the ssalaLers a that Learned Gentleman had good authority fear asserting that great severities and injuries had Veen committed by the troops both at St. Denis end St. 'Charles,, and he was justi fied in saying that they had be e n guilty c‘, 1 excesses in Ca nada. 4,4 it` they tan; been. o a ese-s, 4 u enemy's country ; f or they net only burnt thse fortified houses, hilt they also sacked and burned ether houses in those villages. The Hon. l3aronet said that the assertions of Mr, Roebuck wa . this subject were exaggerated, and that Mr. Roebuck had made his statements on the authority of paragraphs in American newspapers. Now he (Mr. Leader) could state that this was not the case, but that the sta'ernetit was made on the authority of a gentleman who arrived from Canada by the list New Ysrk packet, namely, the We. tmiaster. He had himself heard that genthysian, who was an Englishman, and had nor hing to do with what the lion. Baronet called the tie lsonable practices that had taken place in Canada,— ( Hear, bear. ) He could not undeastand that cheer ; hut he was satisfied Oat many Canadians were eltarg:.nl with treasons ab'e practices who were guilty of nothing of the kind, and it was rather hard to call thorn by such names before th e y were proved to be guilty.lie had heard the gentleman to whom he alluded make the statement almost in the same words aid had been used by Mr. Roebuck as to the Tillage of St. Dania and St. Charles hat isg been burned and sacked. He nad a hot's+, ever, eridencu on this point which would be considered better an.: of more weight by Han. Gentlemen, lie %rebid rder tilt) lion. Baronet to this better evidence, narnstly, the dispo.teltes of the Governsr of Canada arid the military Officers who wrri elgaged, and from them he would prove thet an unneomOry degree of harchnsis and severity hit been used, and that the property of Cenlatills had been wantonly destroyed. Thos troops not only destroyed the stronghold of the insurgentn, but also the houses and property of persons who sided with the House of Assembly.—( Hear, and Oh 1) epented. it was merely for sidi ng w i t h t h e House of .A. - ssembly that they ha I had their property destroyc.d. tthe dispatch of Colonel Wetherell. dated St. ChArle9, the 22d of November, he says, " I then advanced t 0 lstiother position 100 yards from the works, but finding defenders obstinate, I stormed and cartied them, burn;sog every b u ildi ng w i t hi n the .stoc kade except that tit the Honourable Mr. Debartsch ; " and the llsuse will hardly believe what is the fact, that the house of 2,/r. Debartsch is the strongest house in the village, and that was not destroyed, because the owner of it was a member of the Luiistative Council, and a supporter of the Govern ment.—( Hear, hear. ) It seemed then that this property was not destroyed, not because it did not afford protection to the insurgents from the fi re of the troops, but because it be_ - longe - d to a person attached to the Government—it was saved from destruction when other houses not nearly so strong were destroyed, because it belonged to a partisan of the Govern nient. There was also a paragraph in the dispatch of Colonel Gore which was confirmatory of this : he says, " the property of the rebel Wolfred Nelson was, in the course of , the day and the next morning, destroyed, and also the fortifiedhouse and all the defences." He recollected that great blame was cast on himself and others for having stated that it wss probable that the Lower Canadians would confiscate the property of their opponents if their party happened to be successful. It was said that observations of that kind only encouraged thorn to confiscate the property of their opponents ; but he had not alluded to it with any such view, but only mentioned it as a probable event. If, however, it was such a horrible thing even to allude to such a thing as confiscation, how came it that the property of Wol- Fred Nelson was destroyed, as well as all the other houses in the village s___( Hear,. hear.) If they were anxious to u dewn this i nsurrec ti on, and secure the peaceful Goverpn.t cent of the country, the best tray to do so was by con ciliation, and not working on the feelings of the people of Canada and by the destruct on of pt.( party. —( Hear, hear..) The Hon. ierr'osr then proceeded as follows :—Before en terinsr on the merits the 1311 before us, it is necessary, for the sake of doing justice to all parties concerned, that I ;tumid say a few words as to the origin of the present deplorable con test in Lower Canada Throughout the discussion three causes have been assigned by various parties for the discontent and insurrection of the Canadians. First, the Noble Lord and his friends on this side as on the other side of the House lay much of the blame on the machinations of a few demagogues, who, we are told in one speech, have agitated and disorganised and inflamed to Revolutionary madness the whole Canadian popula tion, and who, we are told, in another speech, though very anxious to cause contusion, have signally failed in their attempt, being supported by only a small portion of ignorant and de luded peasantry in one or two districts. Leaving these contra dictory ststernents to be reconciled with each other, and with the truth, I proceed to the second alleged cause of the insur rection. The Noble Lord solemnly arraigned the House of; Assembly, and traced all the mischief to their conduct. will not detain the House by defending their conduct; that talik will, I trust, soon be performed by the man in this c.ountry most capable of doing justice to it. But this I must say, that from first to last the A ssem bl y exercised a constitutional right so lemnly guaranteed to them by this country. If blame, then, is to be attached to army persons, it should lie attached to those who gave the As_ sembly a power which was not to be used--who put into the hands of the Canadian representatives a weapon for using which in their own defence you are now about to inflict punishment upon them. The third alleged cause is that insisted on by the Gentleman opposite, namely, the ilicompetence, vacillation, and procrastination of the present Ministers, It is not necessary to stop to inquire into the exact proportion of th e mischief produced which should be attributed to each of these three causes, nor to weigh nicely the exact amount of evil which shots/el in strict justice be assigned to each, nor even whether one or even 't wo of them exist merely in the imagination of those who propound tl' em ; but there is a fourth cause which I believe to be the real caus4 and origin of all the discontent, and of tic consequent disturbance., and that is, the Tory misguverinnent of the colony during more then twenty years. In order to prove which I am the mare anxious to eemark on this period of the misgovernment of Caneda, iu tionsequence of the praise bestowed by my Hon. Friend the Member for London and by my lion. Friend the Member for Kilkenny on the liberal dispatches and the liberal intentions of Sir Gee. Murray amid Lord Aberdeen. It is very true that their dis patches contain an expression of liberal sentiments, and hold out a hope that liber..l measures will he adopted ; but, unfortunately for the Medians, these liberal views were never acted on, were never carried into effect ; they had their beethining and their ending in time dispatches. I refer to the debates which took placeoa the subject of Cauada in 1829, 1829, and 1930. I find. Sir J. Mackintosh, Mr. Labouchere, Mr. Stanley (the Noble Lord now Member for North Lancashire), Lord Seindon, Lord Howick, Mr. C. Grant (now Colonial Secretary), Lord Altiiorp. Mr. Evelyn D,nison, Lord Milton, and Sir. Stuart Wortley,, all cemnplaiiiieg of the misgovernment of Canada, and most of them( strong y comicenning the Legislative Council, both for its composition. j a , c ,,n e a o n fLe : and conduct. - I would also refer Members uio cci a p r: s r e. tc o t f facts to the evidence given by Mr. E. Ellice before the Committe e of 1828. They will find him speaking of " along ment and a constant attempt to reconcile c o ntrsSictory principles in time administration of affeirs in Canada ;" be evils which were not theoretical but practical, and w } e i c h fcrmed just ground of complaint ;" " of taxes levied, against the wel of the House of Assembly ;" of vexr.dsers dissolutions and prorogatiorse of the Assembly ;" " of a trsrsenesance in measures illegal amid offensive to the ri g hts an d feelings. of the people ;•• " of the French and English population having be ,n almost brought into collision, and a wider sepa ration between th , ...m in opinion on all matters of internal Government and Le.gislatiee having been rather encouraged than checked.'^ The* and many riore grave charges are brought against the Government ill his evid'ence, which is indee - i one of the best exposures on record of the m!sg`./vernment of Canada by the Tories. From the documents to which 1 nave referred it is evident that the grievances which had been experi enced in Canada as early as 1820, which reached ttris country and excited the attention of seine members of this Hcuse, and caused a Committee of Inquiry iii 1823, were, though ackneawledged, unredresseet in 1830—the revenues of the province plundeeed—its treasury bankrupt —its suitors robbed—the constitutional 'lents of the people disregarded —one portion of the Legislature (that which was nominated by the Crown) allowed by every one to lse utterly unfit for the Govern ment of the country—time most arbitrary nets perpetrated by the Go vernor. These were the grievances of Tory domination —these were the wrongs of Tory misrule. But it may be said as against time CATia dians, that when the Whigs came into office they, by the wisdom and prudence of their views, and by the decision with which they carried their views into effect, completely repaired all time errors of their pre decessors, and by a coarse of wise conciliation, united with a lirm adlie_ relict, to the real interests both of England and Canada, soon settled the differences and removed the rancorous feelings which Tory mismanage. ment had produced. It has, indeed, been boldly asserted by time friends of the present Government that all the grievances of the Canadians have been redressed. 1 must, however, first remark that grievances which in 1820 might easily have been redressed, had in 1828 become more corm heated, and in 1831 greater concessions were required to compensate for long.continued wrongs. In 1828 the recommenda. tion of the Committee would have been gladly accepted. The Noble Lord had himself told us that the Canadians styled it " an im. perishable monument of the wisdom and justice of Parliament." It is a pity that it was not carried into effect. In the year 1831 a greater measure of concession was wished for, as the delay of justice hat increased the apprehensions of the people, and caused them to de mand greater securities for good Government. If, therefore, the tie. mantis of the Canadians have gone on increasing, the blame rests not on them, but on those who permitted acknowledged abuses to continue in existence. The conduct of the Tory party had tended to produce in the minds of the snore reflecting of our North American subjects a conviction that it was impossible for the mother country to govern wisely and well a powerful anti distant colony whose interests were most complicated. Moreover, they began to perceive that, unacs quainted as the people of this country must be with those interests, and uninterested likewise as they must feel in the internal concerns of distant dependencies, it was impossible to enforce anything like effective responsibility on the home Government of the colonies ; , and that when responsibility was wanting the experience of all ages proved that abuses wou:d exist, and though acknowledged, remain ttoredressed; and of the truth of these positions they had a grievous practical proof - in the violence of Sir James Craig, in the arbi trary conduct of Lord Dalhousie, and in the policy of the Office during a long series of years. With these feelings the Canadian& increased their demands for local powers, convinced that the only chance of good Government consisted in the greatest amount of self , government, and in the greatest amount of independence of this country whic:i was consistent with the supremacy of Great, Beit,n s e for as yet they had no desire to shake off our yoke.. It must be allowed, therefore, that the position of the Whigs when they came into power was a far more difficult one than that of their predecessors at the commencement cr at any other period of the dispute. But I ask, have they in any way shown themselves equal to the task, or even attempted to overcome the difficulties of their position p Have they even actions plished the recommendation of the Committee of 1828. I will answer th, last question in the words of their own Commissioners, who made a rc.pert in 1837, 'the great grievance, and one which originated other grievarce, was the composition and conduct and political character of the Legisla tive Council. This body had been condemned, as I have shown, by men of all parties from 1828 to - this time, and the Committee of 1828 had recommended a great alteration in its composition. An alteration was indeed made in it in 1832 by the judges ceasing to take part in Its pro ceedings, and by the addition of thirteen new members unconnected with the Gov.erninent. HoW, in the first place, was thi s a l teration, and how were th e new appointments, received by the Assembly? Their roc ception may be gathered from the 92 resolutions of 1834, and partieu_ larly from the '24th, which says, " Such of the recently appointed COustt suitor s as were tal;en from the majority of time Assembly, and had enter tained the hope that a sufficient number of independent men, holdin: opinions in unison with those of the majority of the people and of the c representatiVes, would be associa' ed with them, must now ft:el that they are overwhelmed by a majority hostile to the country." It was the political character of the Legislative Council which induced it to Oppose the Assembly, to reject all measutes even fur education' and annual supply voted by the Assembly, It was the political character whi.bh caused the chid part of its evil, and which re. quired abave all an alteration, But your 04'11 Commissioners tell yn..l that object was not etfeeted in 1837, though recommended in 11828. The fact is, gust altering the Legislative Council you kept the word of preet'ese to time ear, arid broke it to the sense ; and atter your aftereVien the Legislative Council was as hostile to the Assembly, at es great an obstacle to all useful and even necessary legislation, as I when denoucced by M. Laboucherce in 1828, or by Lord Sandon in 1830. But have the Whigs shown themselves equal to the difficult task of arratigisee tyke disputes, and smoothi ng th e asperities caused by tae lung eelsgoveetunent of their predecessors I' To that question there its sect but a significant answer--Canada has revolted. The Whigs. have clone positively nothing to overcome the many and great obstacles that stood in the way of a peaceable settlement of Canadian differences. They promised much—they talked of infusing a liberal spirit into Use Legislative Council—they sent out a COallniSiioll to inquire into grit/.